Software

ADIF Master

BenLeave a comment

ADIF Master is a popular amateur radio logging software tool used for editing and managing ADIF log files. ADIF stands for Amateur Data Interchange Format, which is the worldwide standard used by ham radio operators to share QSO log information between different logging programs and online logbook services. Many amateur radio enthusiasts use ADIF Master to organise contacts, repair corrupted log files, and prepare logs for upload to systems such as Logbook of The World, QRZ, Club Log, and eQSL.

The software is designed mainly as an ADIF editor rather than a full live logging program. One of the reasons ADIF Master is widely used in the amateur radio community is because of its simple spreadsheet-style layout. The rows and columns make it easy to edit callsigns, frequencies, modes, signal reports, dates, times, DXCC information, and other ham radio logging details quickly and easily.

ADIF Master includes many useful features for amateur radio operators. It can open, edit, merge, sort, filter, and convert ADIF files from different logging software programs. The software can also import Cabrillo contest logs and convert older log formats into modern ADIF files. This makes it very useful for contest operators, portable activators, DX hunters, and digital mode users.

Many radio amateurs use ADIF Master for cleaning up FT8 and FT4 logs created by WSJT-X or other digital mode software such as what I show you in the video, my excel log book. It is also commonly used to remove duplicate contacts, correct incorrect time entries, fix formatting problems, and prepare logs for awards and confirmations. The software supports modern ADIF standards and works well with current amateur radio digital modes.

Another advantage of ADIF Master is that it is lightweight and easy to run on most Windows computers, including Windows 10 and Windows 11 systems. Because the program is small and portable, many ham radio operators keep a copy on a USB drive or shack computer for quick log maintenance and backup work.

ADIF Master is especially helpful for amateur radio operators who regularly exchange log files between different ham radio programs. It provides a fast and simple way to manage amateur radio contacts while keeping logs accurate and compatible with modern logging systems and online amateur radio databases.

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EchoLink CQ

BenLeave a comment

I’ve been using EchoLink well before smartphones where the only way I knew how to connect to a different station was via the radio. The internet wasn’t as extensive as it is now and you had to dial the node you wanted via the radio. You can still do this today but I don’t think anywhere near as many do it.

I always felt EchoLink was well ahead of its time. Started well before any digital radio was thought of. Connecting the world via the internet.

It was great to be able to talk to the UK or States while mobile on the way to work just using a small whip antenna on the car.

Given I’m in Australia, it can be difficult to remember when overseas nets are on, or what part of the world is awake and up for a chat and which ones are not. But EchoLink has a CQ feature.

Calling CQ

EchoLink had a CQ feature where you can call CQ and it will automatically connect to someone who is calling CQ also.

From the Stations screen select call CQ.

  • Then select your language.
  • Select the country, if you leave it as any, you will not limit your connection options
  • Select the node type, again, leave as any to start with
  • And you can skip recent if you want to.

Then press Call CQ

It will call CQ for a while searching for a connection that matches your settings. I find that sometimes it tries to connect to another node but can fail. This is perhaps because the connection drops out for whatever reason. Just try again.

The good thing about this option is you will get someone who is wanting to talk to someone just like you do!

What is your experience with EchoLink? What is your favourite nodes? Why don’t you put it in the comments below so we can all learn from your experiences.

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Chirp

BenLeave a comment

CHIRP is a free, open-source tool for programming your amateur radio. It supports a large number of manufacturers and models, as well as provides a way to interface with multiple data sources and formats.

Supported Radios

Supported radios can be found on their web site at https://chirp.danplanet.com/projects/chirp/wiki/Home. This list is updated as the software is updated.

Download Chirp

Chirp can be downloaded from the following web site. Should things stop to work or connect to outside web sites, it probably is because you don’t have the latest version. You do NOT need to uninstall an existing version of CHIRP before installing a newer one. Just install the new one and it will replace the existing copy. If you already have an old copy on your PC, make sure you close it first, otherwise you will get an error while installing.

https://trac.chirp.danplanet.com/chirp_daily/LATEST/

Update Chirp

On opening Chirp, it will tell you if an update is available. Simply click on the link, download the latest version that is appropriate to your platform, and then once the file has downloaded, run the file. It will update your software. No need to un-install the old one, and it seems all the settings, such as file locations, stay in the new version.

Connecting Tip

Chirp can easily connect to your radio without needing to look at the device manager anymore. Have a look at this:

Known Issues

Chirp list all their known issues online which is great. You can see the current list here:

https://chirp.danplanet.com/issues?page=13&per_page=100&set_filter=ewezetzft&sort=tracker%2Cstatus%2Cpriority

Download from Radio

I think the first step is to first download what is currently on the radio. This will give you a starting point which can be saved should your upload not work. At the very least doing this will allow you to check communication between your PC and radio works, and you will have a file that you can look at to see how it was programmed.

To do this, go to the Radio menu and click on Download from Radio or Ctrl-D. This will give you a small dialog box where you can select the Com Port, radio and model. Your model of radio may not exactly be on the list, so you may need to do some work to see which one to select as an alternative. For example, I have a Baofeng GT-3TP, but it is not on the list, so I have to select the BF-F8HP model.

You can then either edit what you have and then upload it back to the radio, or start from scratch. If you want to start from scratch, you may want to see what Query Data sources are available first.

If you have trouble connecting your computer to your radio, then first make sure it is connected correctly and all the way into the radio. If this doesn’t fix it, go to Windows Device Manager then right click and select properties. If error code 43 comes up, then right click on it and uninstall. Then from the Action menu, scan for updated devices.

Query Data Source

Chirp can can sync your radio with the repeaters listed on several different sites. This will save you a lot of time getting the latest frequencies, offsets, and tone squelches etc. These sites can be found on the Radio menu, Query Data Source, then you can see a list of them.

I usually use the RepeaterBook option and then from this you can select political or proximity depending on what you want to do. If you select proximity it will put the repeaters in distance and band order, not frequency, however you can change this prior to uploading to your radio.

For me, once I have selected proximity, I sort the list in order of frequency, however this doesn’t change their location channel.

Then select the Frequencies you don’t want in your radio, for example, the ones on bands your radio does not use. Right click and select delete, and move all memories up. You may need to sort again in order of frequency; however, this doesn’t change their location channel.

I then export the tab to a csv file.

I then open the CSV file in Excel and sort in the order I want, frequency. Be sure to re-number the location numbers once in the correct order. MAKE SURE COLUMN K = FM. Make sure you remove any comments in column O & R. You can also add any additional frequencies you want to.

Open the CSV exported file, now you will see the locations are in order of Frequency as set above. You can still make any changes required and save or save as which will update the CSV file.

I will add notes here on how to program your radio soon.

Other Reads

Here are some other posts I have done on similar topics